The invention relates to a method and apparatus for the manufacture and filling of a carton or package consisting of at least one foldable blank, which is wrapped around a group of individual packs in the region of its vertical side walls and an upper covering wall, a folding edge being formed between each of the side walls and the covering wall.
The packages consist of foldable material, especially paperboard, cardboard, etc., and the individual packs have above-average dimensional tolerances to enable them to be shaped within a certain range.
The packages include those intended to receive a plurality of individual packs containing loose goods, for example packs of roasted coffee. These are combined into larger selling units and constitute a block-like carton. This invention is concerned with encasing the packs only partially, namely in the region of a bottom wall, adjoining side walls and an upper covering wall. The bottom wall and a lower region of the side walls may constitute a rim or a tray of so-called tray pack. In such a configuration the bottom wall is provided, in the region of the end faces of the package which otherwise remain open with vertical rims which extend merely over a lower area of the individual packs.
A problem which is treated by the invention and which arises in the manufacture and filling of packages of this type lies in the inexact dimensions of the individual packs and of the block-like pack content formed from these. In individual cases, these dimensional tolerances of the packs lead to inadequate packages, in which the individual packs are not sufficiently retained.